REVELLERS at the T in the Park music festival are set to be monitored by a hi-tech night vision security camera floating hundreds of feet above the site.

REVELLERS at the T in the Park music festival are set to be monitored by a hi-tech night vision security camera floating hundreds of feet above the site.

The state-of-the-art equipment is being introduced at the festival for the first time and will be pitched overhead in a hot air blimp. It will be backed up by increased police and steward numbers.

Tayside Police hope the night vision facility will help to ensure there is no repeat of the horrific stabbing of a festival-goer at the 2008 event.

Mark Morrison, 23, was knifed 11 times after confronting two men who had assaulted his female friends at the music event in Kinross-shire last July.

Robert Kidd, 25, from Barrhead, and John Tiffoney, 25, from Glasgow, were found guilty last month of stabbing Mr Morrison and were jailed for nine years each.

Chief superintendent Craig Suttie, the officer in charge of the event, said he was confident the 2009 festival would remain trouble free.

"This was a despicable incident. It was also an unprecedented one as T in the Park is an event that has an excellent safety record stretching back more than a decade.

"T in the Park is a huge summer highlight for tens of thousands of people and that is no different for those of us tasked with policing the festival.

"The weekend is the culmination of many months of preparation. Almost as soon as the last tent peg is pulled from the ground, the planning team set to work on preparing for next year's event.

"There was an isolated and dreadful incident at last year's festival which was recently dealt with by the courts. The resulting sentences of nine and nine and a half years for those responsible send a very clear message that such actions will not be tolerated.

"I can reassure everyone that safety is our number one priority for the T in the Park community and we are committed to maintaining the festival's proud reputation as a fun and safe event for all."

Colin Rodger, T in the Park event manager, said: "We have always worked closely with Tayside Police along with the emergency and security services to ensure the highest levels of safety at the festival.

"This is something that we build upon each year and, for 2009, we have introduced additional new on-site security measures."